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115.1 MW Conventional Hydroelectric (33 MW) + Hydroelectric Pumped Storage (83 MW) operating in Butte, CA
115.1 MW
Nameplate Capacity
4
Generators
units
Hybrid (2)
Technology
Conventional Hydroelectric + Hydroelectric Pumped Storage
1968
Operating Since
Coordinates
39.5149, -121.6301
County
Butte, CA
Nearby Plants
Forward-looking, asset-specific exposure analytics combining climate hazards, generation variability, and counterparty risk into a single decision-grade view. Powered by InfraRisk.
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Owner data does not fully agree across sources.
EIA typically reports the operating utility, while GEM resolves to the financial owner or parent corporation. Both can be correct.
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | California Dept. of Water Resources | California Department of Water Resources | — |
| Owner(s) | California Dept. of Water Resources | California Department of Water Resources | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
GEM identifies the owner as California Department of Water Resources
This entity is not yet in the GEM ownership database — chain unavailable.
The Thermalito plant, located in Butte County, California, is a 115.1 MW hybrid hydroelectric pumped storage facility. It began operating in 1968 and is owned and operated by the California Department of Water Resources. The plant utilizes water as its primary fuel source and consists of four generators employing conventional hydroelectric technology.
Thermalito operates within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. In the most recent year with available data, the plant generated 322,349 MWh, achieving a capacity factor of 32.1%. Thermalito ranks as the 37th largest of 42 plants in California and 164th largest of 194 plants nationally.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
ISO/RTO
CAISO
Market
ISO/RTO Member
NERC Region
WECC — Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Balancing Authority
California Independent System Operator (CISO)
Grid Voltage
230.0 kV
Regulatory Status
RE — Regulated
Entity Type
State
Sector
Electric Utility
Monthly net generation as reported to EIA-923 — useful for historical context. Confidence varies sharply by fuel type; the band above and the “About this data” button explain the caveats specific to this plant and how InfraSure’s in-house model handles them.
11.7K MWh
Net Discharge
322.3K MWh
Annual Net Energy
32.1%
Capacity Factor
Positive values indicate net discharge (generation exceeds station load). Negative values indicate net charging. Pure battery storage plants are typically net negative due to round-trip efficiency losses.
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2013
$2,294/kW
Est. Construction Cost
Total estimated cost: $264.1M
Forward revenue, DSCR bands, and refinancing risk projected under price, demand, and policy scenarios. Powered by InfraSure's asset cashflow stack.
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Market Position
ISO/RTO Market
CAISO
LMP Node
THERMLTO_2_N109
Pricing Hub
TH_NP15_GEN-APND
Location Type
Pricing Node
Node Source
Curated node match
No wholesale contracts disclosed in FERC EQR for this plant.
FERC EQR captures bilateral wholesale energy + capacity contracts ≥$1M/yr filed quarterly by jurisdictional sellers — covers renewable PPAs, thermal energy sales agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements alike. Many plants don't appear: regulated-utility output flows to ratepayers via cost-of-service rather than bilateral contracts; small projects fall below the filing threshold; tax-equity-financed renewables route offtake to investors not utilities; merchant plants sell into ISO clearing markets without bilateral contracts. News-extracted buyer facts (below) may surface contracts disclosed only through announcements.
Last updated 2026-03-26
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